


Akaan'ade

by cowmelon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, CC-2224 | Cody Needs a Hug, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Hurt CC-2224 | Cody, Other, fuck is a star wars swear word
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29711070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowmelon/pseuds/cowmelon
Summary: The children of war have and continue to sacrifice so much of themselves for what they believed in. It hurt, but it was for the greater good - wasn't it?*more tags will be added as the story progresses(This is a rewrite of my other fic 'only the dead have seen the end of war'. I'll be taking some material from there but for the most part, I'm rewriting it, maybe changing the plot a little.)
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this fic will be a little vulgar. just a little warning in case you're uncomfortable with that.
> 
> also I'll be changing captain jag's story a bit. basically he'll be transferred to the 212th before he's taken into the 104th

Wooley rubbed his temples. A headache was starting to form and it was making it very clear that it didn't plan on leaving anytime soon. Sighing, he got up and searched the cabinets in the medbay, desperate for something to relieve the pain. He made a little sound of triumph as he came across some painkillers. He grabbed the mildest ones and started preparing a dosage. 

Satisfied with what he'd come up with, he injected the dose into his arm. Going for the neck would've made the effects kick in faster, but he would rather avoid that area whenever possible. 

As he sat back down on one of the beds in the medbay, he allowed himself to relax, letting the painkillers work their magic. Being a medic in the GAR was always hectic, but it was especially hectic for medics in the 501st or the 212th. Both units of the two most renowned Jedi Generals in the galaxy, they could barely catch a break. Wooley wasn't complaining, though. He'd never trade General Kenobi for anyone else. 

He felt the painkillers begin to kick in and he sighed, relishing the momentary relief. The dosage wasn't enough to completely numb his ever-growing headache, but it was good enough. He needed to conserve supplies for the rest of the battalion, anyway. While they were out in open space, who knows when the next time they'd stop to restock on supplies was. 

It was a quiet day on _The Negotiator_ , and he was the only medic on duty at the moment. The medbay was completely empty minus himself and he was grateful for that fact. Don't get him wrong, he loves helping his brothers out more than anything, but it was nice to have a very rare lazy day once in a while. 

His peace and quiet were cut short when the doors to the medbay slid open without warning, causing him to jump a bit as he was lost in his own head. 

"Boil," he greeted his fellow trooper as he stomped into the medbay. "What is it?" 

Boil glared at him. He was never one of the friendlier ones, but he never used to be this much of an asshole either. He's changed. Of course, everyone knew why. They've just never spoken it out loud before. 

"Ate some rancid shit in the mess hall earlier," he finally said. 

"And how long ago was that?" Wooley asked, trying to get a better picture of the situation. It was obvious Boil didn't even want to be here and that he just wanted to get his meds and go, but that wasn't how things worked around here, even for the smallest of problems. 

Boil grunted in annoyance. "About 6 hours."

Wooley hummed. That would give enough time for his body to digest and reject whatever it was that he ate. "Well, what did you eat?" 

"Fuck if I know," Boil shrugged. "It's the same shit in there all the time anyway."

That wasn't the answer Wooley was hoping for, but knowing Boil, it was the best he was going to get. "Alright," he sighed. "Give me a second."

He got up and rummaged through more cabinets. Painkillers could work, but they'll only temporarily relieve the pain. He needed something that detoxified his stomach too. He heard Boil sigh impatiently as he sat on one of the medbeds. He ignored him. 

"Ah hah! Here we go," Wooley exclaimed as he pulled out a bag of clear liquid. He injected it with a syringe and extracted a decent amount. He flicked it a couple of times, making sure there were no air bubbles. He turned over to Boil, who gave him a sceptical look. 

"Well? Get over here, asshole," he grumbled. Boil muttered something under his breath that Wooley couldn't quite catch, but he remained unphased by it. 

Boil plopped onto the medbed in front of Wooley, still eyeing the syringe suspiciously. "What's in there?" he finally asked as Wooley started removing pieces of his armour on his shoulder. 

"Nothing your dense ass would understand," Wooley replied, not even sparing a glance at him. 

"At least tell me what it'll do, di'kut. It's going in _my_ body," Boil grumbled. 

Wooley sighed. He had a point he supposed. "It'll help ease the pain along with speed up the detoxification process and get rid of whatever your dumbass ate." He'll admit, the headache was making him grumpier by the second and the painkillers weren't working as well as he had hoped, but it's Boil. He can take it.

"Ow! Watch it, asshole!" Boil squealed as Wooley penetrated his skin with the needle. 

"Maybe if you weren't so tense it wouldn't have hurt as much," Wooley shot back. 

Boil huffed as Wooley pulled the needle back out. "At least warn me."

Wooley only shrugged in response. "That's what you get for just shoving shit into your mouth before making sure it's even edible."

"Oh come on Wooley. Half the shit the GAR feeds us shouldn't even be considered edible."

He was right there, but Wooley remained silent. He wasn't about to admit anything to this asshole. 

"Besides," Boil went on. "I never had to check my food. Waxer always helped me out with that." Wooley looked at him as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. That was true, to an extent. Boil had never even mentioned Waxer ever since...well, ever since. The look on Boil's face said that he was surprised himself. The words just slipped past his lips against his will.

Wooley was silent. He wasn't even holding back this time, he just genuinely didn't know what to say. He knew how close the two were, how much Waxer meant to Boil and vice versa. But Waxer was gone, and something in Boil changed ever since that day. 

Boil glanced at Wooley following his silence and they maintained eye contact for a few moments. Wooley could've sworn he saw his eyes glaze over. Boil clenched his jaw and turned away. 

"Whatever," he muttered before storming out of the medbay. 

"Boil wait-" Wooley called after him, but Boil was long gone by then. The sound of the medbay door sliding shut was almost too loud in the now eerily silent room.

Wooley sighed and his shoulders slumped. He'd have to keep an eye on that man for his own sake.

* * *

Boil stormed through the hallways, ignoring greetings and salutes from the other troopers. What was going on with him? He should've been over it by now. He thought he was. Apparently fucking not. 

He tried his best to get his mind off it. Trying to think of literally anything else. The more his mind lingered, the blurrier his vision became. Surely this wasn't normal for someone like him - _something_ like him. That's all they were, weren't they? Things. Property. The clone troopers of the GAR, mindless flesh droids of The Republic. 

He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking this way. Waxer was proud to serve The Republic, why wasn't he? 

He finally came to a stop as he took a turn into a corridor with no one else in sight. He sighed as he thumped the back of his head against the durasteel wall, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried his hardest to get rid of all these thoughts. They were treasonous, and that could get him killed.

Waxer... He still remembers his last words, the look of heartbreak on his face at the realisation of what he'd done. He's never seen Waxer cry before, and he truly wished it had stayed that way. 

Every clone knew they were destined for nothing more than death, but the one dream they shared in common was that they'd meet it honourably. Dying on the battlefield, fighting to protect what they believed in. But Waxer couldn't even have that. He died being hunted by his own brothers, all under the sinister orders of one Jedi General. 

Waxer's death was the result of a treasonous Jedi. Boil's doubts about The Republic were considered treasonous and could get him killed. He doubted Krell would've faced consequences anywhere nearly as severe as that if Dogma hadn't put a hole through his pathetic fucking heart. 

Even Dogma was punished for that. There was proof all around him. They were fighting for a corrupt system that didn't see right from wrong, innocent from guilty, all they saw was rank, money and privilege. 

"Lieutenant."

Boil snapped out of his daze, immediately turning toward the source of the voice. 

"Commander," he greeted, straightening his posture and giving him a stiff salute. 

"At ease," Cody dismissed. "I was just looking for you. I tried your comm, but it didn't seem to be getting through."

"Sorry about that, sir. I made a quick run to the medbay and left my comlink back in the barracks," he explained hoping he wasn't going to be reprimanded for it.

Cody sighed. "It's fine Boil. Don't let it happen again."

"Yessir."

Cody seemed to ridicule him with his eyes alone before he spoke up again. "We'll be deploying soon onto Duroon. 1410 tomorrow. The mission briefing will be held at 1200 on the same day."

Boil nodded in acknowledgement. Though he had a confused look on his face, one which Cody took notice of. "What is it?"

"Sir, isn't Duroon in Separatist space?" Boil questioned.

Cody hummed. "It is, but it'll be a stealth mission from what I can tell so far. More details will be revealed at the briefing tomorrow." And with a pat on his shoulder, Cody was gone. 

Boil's eyes lingered on the back of his Commanders retreating form for a little longer than necessary. He didn't know why, but the longer he looked, the angrier he got. 

Marshal Commander Cody. Boil's served with him ever since he was fresh off Kamino. So had Waxer and countless other men. But for some reason, he managed to outlive all those other men. Why was that? Perhaps higher ranking clones were just more valuable to The Republic. Maybe command track training on Kamino took more effort - more _money._

Whatever it was, all Boil could see at that moment was the fact that Cody was alive and Waxer wasn't.

Boil sighed shaking those thoughts from his mind. Instead, he brought his thoughts back to the mission Cody had mentioned. Based on what little information he was given so far, it could either be an especially simple mission or it could go terribly wrong. Guess he'll just have to wait and see. 

* * *

He was on the way back to his barracks when he ran into Captain Jag. Their interaction was brief, just a quick nod of acknowledgement from both parties, but he couldn't help but wonder about the man. The Captain hasn't always been a part of the 212th. From Boil's perspective, he just kind of showed up one day. There have been rumours, of course, of where he came from and why he was here, but none of them seemed to really make sense. 

The one that did, however, was that he used to be the Commander of his own unit, before getting demoted after a mission gone wrong. How wrong could a mission go for him to be demoted? Boil wondered. 

As he entered his barracks that he shared with a few other troopers, he made a beeline for his bunk. He saw Wooley laying on his own bunk, one arm shielding his eyes with his leg slung over the other. Boil looked away. He didn't want to attract his attention even though he knew Wooley couldn't see him. He didn't want to see that same look on his face when he mentioned Waxer earlier.

He heard the bunk beside him creak under the weight of another one of his brothers. 

"Commander's been callin'," Trapper mentioned as he took off his armour piece by piece, not bothering to arrange it as he tossed it into the crate beside him. 

"I know," Boil replied as he began stripping off his own armour. 

"Ah, so ya ran into em' already, huh?" Trapper chuckled. "What'd he say?"

Boil glared at him from the corner of his eye. "None of your business, Trapper."

Trapper only chuckled more in response. "I know, I know. It's just funny to get a rile outta ya."

"Oh yeah?" Boil growled, growing more and more annoyed by the second. 

"Uh-huh," Trapper smiled at him before laying down. He shifted a bit in an attempt to get more comfortable. "G'night, grumps."

Boil rolled his eyes as he followed suit, ignoring Trapper wholeheartedly. "Dickface," he grumbled under his breath as he shut his eyes. 

"Awww, love ya too, vod."

"Ne'johaa. Both of you."

* * *

"Alright men, listen up." Cody stood tall and confident as he relayed the mission details to his men. "This is meant to be a stealth mission. Getting past the atmosphere undetected will be our first main issue."

"That is why only a few of you will be deployed planetside," Kenobi continued. "We need to maintain the element of surprise. The enemy doesn't know we're coming, and I hope you all intend on keeping it that way."

A chorus of yessir echoed through the crowd of men in front of them. 

"Ghost Company along with the Recon Division will be deployed," Cody explained. "Now, here's the plan. There's a communications tower on Duroon that's been transmitting vital Republic info to the Seppies. Our job is to: A, rewire the tower to transmit Seppie info to us instead. But it has to be done discretely in a way that they won't catch on even after we're long gone. Or B, destroy it."

There was a noise of excitement from somewhere in the crowd. "Hope I _\- we_ get to blow it up, sir," one of the men joked. 

He was nudged by the trooper beside him. "Heh, we don't call him Demo for nothing."

"Demo?" Kenobi raised an eyebrow.

"It's uh, short for Demolition, sir," Demo clarified, somewhat shy now that most of the attention was on him.

Kenobi chuckled. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that, Demo. The tower could be of extreme use to us, even tip the war in our favour."

Demo rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Sorry, sir," he mumbled. 

"No worries. If it comes to destroying the tower, I do hope you have fun doing it," Kenobi smirked. That seemed to get Demo's spirits back up again.

Cody shook his head lightly. The General shouldn't be encouraging his already rowdy men. "Back to the task at hand," he raised his voice, regaining the attention of everyone there, including the General. "We know that Duroon is extremely foggy, which could either prove as an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on how you look at it."

"We won't be able to use our HUD's night vision, or any of its other features for that matter. The tower is equipped with an electrical current detector that'll give us away before we even get the chance to get close. We'll only be able to utilize our air filters. Anything else is out of the question."

A hand raised from between the crowd. 

"Yes?"

"Sir, what about our helmets' built-in flashlights? They're battery-powered, surely they don't give off much current if any at all."

"Good point. I was just about to get to that," Cody tried to hide the slight annoyance in his voice. "We will be able to use them, but only up to a certain distance from the tower. Any closer and all those flashlights in one place will give off our position in the fog anyway. We'll be flying blind the moment I give the signal, so stay close and don't get lost."

Kenobi took a step forward. "Now, before we dismiss you, who here would be most suited for the job of rewiring the tower?"

"That would be me, sir," a trooper stepped out of the crowd. He looked relatively young still.

"And what might your name be?"

"My designation is-"

Cody cut him off before he had a chance to finish. "He asked for your _name_ , kid." He folded his arms across his chest, annoyed.

"My friends call me Wires, sir," the kid replied as he stood straighter than before. A nervous bead of sweat was making its way down his temple. 

"A fitting name," Kenobi smiled. "Well, Wires, I want you to pick out a few other men who you think could get the job done, understood?"

"Yessir!"

"Good. Your team will stay close to the front. Be ready to infiltrate the tower if it comes to it. Demo will go with you, in case rewiring isn't an option."

Demo chuckled as he crossed his arms. "This is going to be fun."

A few other troopers around him shared his enthusiasm, but Boil couldn't help but shift nervously. This sounded too easy. He had a bad feeling about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> di'kut - idiot  
> ne'johaa - shut up  
> vod - brother


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is taken directly from chapter 10 of 'only the dead have seen the end of war' so feel free to skip ahead if you've already read it

_"Go go go!"_

_"Take cover!"_

_"We're too exposed!"_   
  


The sounds of screams and blaster fire filled the air. The scent of singed flesh and blood was fresh in his senses. He felt like throwing up. As battle-hardened as he was, it never got easier. But stopping now, even for a moment, meant certain death.

A blaster bolt flew right past his head as he ducked just in time. The trooper behind him wasn't so lucky. He stole a glance at his fallen brother, memorising the markings on his armour. It was Wires, one of the newest additions to the 212th. He felt angry at himself for lasting this long while others fell around him.

The path ahead was foggy, only being illuminated by the bright flashes of blaster fire. They could barely see their enemy, let alone return well-aimed shots. They were flying blind while the droids picked them off a few dozen at a time. Their numbers were depleting drastically and calling for back up wasn't an option. They'd already tried that, only for the gunships to be shot down by anti-air turrets they couldn't even see.

"Draw out their fire!" Cody yelled into the comms. "Out of the fog! If we can see em' we can hit em'!"

They were trying their best with what they had, they really were, but that evidently wasn't enough. The enemy had the upper hand in every aspect of this fight. If he weren't fighting for his life right now, Cody would be impressed. Droids never had this much efficiency before. Perhaps there was a living officer with them, or the tactical droids got an upgrade. Whatever it was, Cody cursed it to nebula and back.

Their mission was simple enough: take the communications tower, and either reestablish it to transmit Republic comms or destroy it altogether.

But this mission wasn't going according to plan. Intelligence had told them that The Separatists had minimal defence in this area as they weren't expecting an attack. As such, the General only deployed a few platoons to take it. It seemed like an easy enough target. Cody thought the fact they were called Intelligence was extremely ironic when really, they were anything but.

And as a result of their _stupidity_ , what little of the 212th that were deployed were now outnumbered and outgunned. This couldn't get much worse, could it?

A sharp ringing cut through the atmosphere and Cody knew he spoke too soon. He recognised its source from a mile away and dread settled in his gut.

"Get to high ground! Now!" he barked frantically into the comms and at the troopers that were within earshot. "Climb the trees!"

They all scrambled, panicking. Some climbed with their bare hands while others used grappling wires. They didn't ask questions - they didn't need to. They trusted their Commander to protect them, and that's exactly what he'll do.

Cody made it to a high branch when he heard a trooper struggling behind him.

"S-sir! I can't!" he sounded terrified. And young. Too young to die out here. His boots were covered in mud, rendering him unable to get a steady grip on the tree.

"Grab my hand!" Cody yelled over the chaos as he reached his arm out to him. They were both straining their arms to their limits as they tried their best to grasp at one another. Cody wasn't going to let another little brother die, not if he could help it. Just a little closer-

The ground shook as the defoliator hit the surface and in the blink of an eye, any and all troopers that were still on the ground were reduced to nothing but ash. Their screams echoed through his mind. Cody stayed frozen in place, his arm still reaching out. Though, there was no one on the other end - not anymore.

The surviving men looked around in horror. What the hell was that? Intelligence had also said that The Separatists no longer had defoliators at their disposal. Cody bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood.

The chaos had settled for the moment. Surely, the droids would be marching in any second - pick off what little the defoliator had missed. But for now, they had time to catch their breath. Cody hopped down from the tree and the others soon followed suit. He looked around. There was nothing left. Not even armour to memorise. He didn't even know the kid's name.

"Sir, what the hell was that?" Boil asked as he angrily marched up to him.

Cody just stared at him for a moment and said nothing. His eyes skimmed through what was left of his men. There was barely a platoon's worth."Fall back," he said finally.

"What?" Boil sounded shocked, yet relieved.

"I said fall back!" Cody yelled loud enough for everyone else around him to hear. "We're outmatched! Retreat!"  
  


* * *

  
  


They ran further away from the droid barricade toward a clearing that was far away enough for the gunships to safely land and pick them up.

He was in a gunship with Boil and Wooley, along with a few other troopers. They all stood in silence, buckets on, not even sparing glances at each other. After long, gruelling hours filled with nothing but explosions, blaster fire and screams, the sudden silence was agonising. Wooley apparently couldn't take it anymore as he was the first to speak up.

"It was a meat grinder down there," he muttered quietly as he gently shook his head. He sounded more in disbelief than anything.

Boil scoffed, but he was anything but amused. "You think?" His voice dripped with venom. He turned to Cody, who was painfully aware of his accusatory gaze but refused to meet it.

"It could've been worse," Crys sighed. "At least we made it out with our lives."

Boil snapped his gaze toward him at that. "Oh yeah? What about the countless others that didn't, huh? D'you seriously only fucking care about yourself?" His voice grew more agitated as he made a move toward Crys, but was stopped by Wooley's hand on his chest.

"Calm down, Boil. We're all tense, there's no need to do more harm."

Boil stopped his advance and scoffed, slapping Wooley's hand away in the process. "Whatever," he grumbled as he crossed his arms.

Wooley sighed, relieved that the tension had eased, but he was also tired. They all were. Cody had yet to say anything, but he didn't exactly want to. What happened down there wasn't his fault in any way, and yet, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Boil's obviously growing resentment towards him wasn't helping.

The rest of the flight back to _The Negotiator_ was met with silence.  
  


* * *

  
  


Once they finally landed in the hangar, Boil was the first to storm off the gunship and to god knows where. Wooley and Crys followed not far behind, though they didn't have as much fervour in their steps. Cody was last off the ship, his shoulders slumped as he lingered around for a few moments.

Davijaan took notice of this as he hopped out of the cockpit. "Sir," he said hesitantly as he approached Cody. When Cody didn't respond or turn around, he decided to take a more adamant approach.

"Cody."

Cody hummed. He usually would've reprimanded him for being so informal while still on duty, but he wasn't exactly in the mood. "Davijaan," he greeted. He turned to face him despite his own mind's protesting.

"Are you alright?" Davijaan asked. It was more of a demand than a question, and Cody heard the unspoken _don't lie to me_.

"Fine," he replied nonchalantly. He heard it, but he didn't care.

Davijaan crossed his arms, unimpressed. "Uh-huh."

Cody let out an irritated sigh and threw his head back slightly. "What do you want me to say? Oh yeah, I'm doing _great_ , thanks for asking."

Even with his helmet on, Cody could see the unimpressed look on Davijaan's face. If not for the circumstances in which they were having this conversation, he probably would've laughed. God knows he needed it. It's been too long since that's happened, and things haven't exactly been getting any better.

"Sir, whatever happened down there was beyond your control. It was in no way your fault. At all," Davijaan spoke slowly, making sure the words didn't fly over Cody's head as words of affirmation so often did.

"I know," Cody rasped. He knew, yet it didn't make him feel any less guilty.

His helmet was facing his brother, but his eyes weren't. He heard Davijaan sigh just barely audible enough to be picked up by his helmet's modulator. He put a hand on his shoulder and Cody did his best not to flinch.

"Take care of yourself, Kote."

Cody's heart wrenched. _Glory_. He had a duty to protect his brothers, and he failed. They died, and for what? In the end, they retreated anyway. He didn't deserve that name.

"I will," he managed to say through gritted teeth. It was a lie. He knew it was a lie, and he knew Davijaan was well aware. But he said nothing, only letting his hand linger on his shoulder for a few more moments before dropping it unceremoniously to his side and walking away without another word, leaving Cody alone to his own devices.

Cody sighed as he rolled his shoulders. Enough vulnerability for one day. It was time to step back into his Commander boots. He had a debriefing with the General to attend.  
  


* * *

  
  


"They were expecting us, sir. They had an entire fully fortified barricade waiting for us."

Kenobi stroked his beard as he frowned in thought, a gesture he so often did. He looked...distressed, to say the least.

When he didn't say anything, Cody took that as a queue to continue. "They had anti-air turrets, resulting in us being unable to call for back up. They had full advantage of the terrain. The fog covered their position while we were completely exposed. As if we weren't easy pickings for them already, they decided to top it all off with a defoliator, sir."

Kenobi's eyes widened. "Defoliator?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

"Yes, sir," Cody clarified. He understood his General's shock. Defoliators were supposed to be out of commission - until now, it seemed.

"How could this be?" Kenobi muttered, more to himself than to Cody. He replied anyway.

"I'm not sure, sir. But this is...concerning."

"Indeed," Kenobi agreed, the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes becoming more evident. This war was ageing the man beyond his years. "How many did we lose?"

"85, sir," he said without missing a beat. He didn't need to look at the casualty list, he didn't need to mull it over. He knew how many men were deployed, and he knew how many he came back with.

"I see things didn't exactly go according to plan down there, Commander."

A flash of irritation consumed Cody but he was quick to regain his composure, lest his Jedi General sense it with his all-powerful Force powers. Was that all he had to say? Of course, it didn't go according to plan, Republic Intelligence is a fucking joke!

Kenobi was looking at him now, eyes filled with concern. Perhaps he wasn't keeping his thoughts as well shielded as he thought he was. Normally, he'd be mortified, but he just couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Cody. This wasn't supposed to happen," he said sadly.

Kenobi may have been a compassionate and effective General, but an apology was the last thing Cody expected to hear from him.

"Sir?"

Kenobi's eyes didn't meet his as he read through the casualty list. 85 soldiers. 85 men. The further he scrolled, the deeper the creases in his forehead got. Casualty lists only ever listed CT numbers, of course, so he couldn't fathom as to why his General even bothered to scroll through all of them instead of just looking at the total listed below.

"Did they have names?" he spoke finally.

Cody swallowed down the lump in his throat. He was _not_ going to start bawling just because someone who wasn't a clone cared about his brothers.

"Yes, sir," he replied before adding: "I'm not sure if all of them did- some were still shinies, probably haven't even picked a name." His heart ached at the thought of the nameless vode. They didn't even get the chance to pick their own names yet - one of the few senses of individuality a clone could have.

Kenobi hummed in acknowledgement but said nothing. He only seemed to be getting even sadder.

Cody was starting to feel uncomfortable at his General's vulnerableness. He cleared his throat against his better judgement and was immediately mortified after the fact. Kenobi seemed to get the message, though.

"Right, well," he began, regaining his composure. "Assuming The Separatists didn't know we were coming, they were very heavily fortified nonetheless. Which begs the question, what are they so adamant in protecting?"  
  


* * *

  
  


Cody felt as if his own weight was too much to carry as he dragged himself through the corridors. He wanted more than anything to settle into the silent privacy of his barracks, but he was also starving. The medbay could wait, Wooley would forgive him. Hell, Wooley might not even mind. He rarely ever grabbed an actual meal from the mess. He only ever munched on those nasty ration bars as he worked away in his barracks.

As the doors to the mess hall slid open, he was greeted by the indistinct chatter of troopers all over. As his eyes scanned through the crowd, he noticed that none of the men that came back with him were here. That would explain the unbothered cheerfulness of the troopers that _were_ present, though.

Cody sighed. He felt guilty for even being here all of the sudden. That seemed to be a reoccurring theme with him lately - guilt. He shoved the feeling down. He'd get a few bites in and get the hell out, retreat to the comfort of his own barracks - _retreat, just like he did only a few hours ago_.

He shut his eyes, trying to push the thought away. Though, his efforts were evidently futile. He bit the inside of his cheek as he made his way over to the food bar. His movements were stiff, tense. He knew the other troopers had better things to do than gawk at their Commander, but he felt a sudden rush of anxiety that was telling him they were. Gawking at him, staring at him. Their Commander - their _brother_ , that didn't bring 85 other brothers back with him.

He grabbed his food - some fruit slices and some sort of dried up meat jerky - and made his way over to an unoccupied table. He wanted to be alone. He wasn't in the mood for conversation. As he set his eyes on his tray, he saw a silhouette take a seat in front of him out of the corner of his eye, and he fought hard to resist the urge to groan.

Instead, he picked up a piece of fruit with his fork and took a bite before glancing up to see who the perpetrator was. His blood ran cold in his veins at the sight of Boil. He had his own food tray in front of him, but he didn't seem to show any interest in actually eating. His gaze was unwaveringly pointed towards Cody, and even though he outranked him in every way, he couldn't help but feel off-put by it.

"Can I help you, Lieutenant?" Cody asked, trying to seem undeterred by his actions.

Boil scoffed. "Enjoying your food, sir?" he asked instead, obviously mocking him.

"Plenty," Cody replied plainly, uninterested in taking part in whatever game Boil was playing at.

Boil let out an airy chuckle that sounded nothing like amusement. "I'm sure you are, sir." He shifted his gaze toward the food in his tray, poking at it with his fork but still not eating anything.

The two were silent for a long moment that seemed to stretch into minutes. Neither of them looked at each other, just eating their food in silence. Cody wanted to tell him to leave if he had no business here, but he was content in maintaining that silence. Even though he was no Jedi, he could _feel_ the anger rolling off Boil in waves - the irritation, the resentment - in the way his shoulders were set a little too tightly, how he chewed his food a little too aggressively.

In the end, Cody relented despite himself. "What do you want, Boil?" he sighed, irritated, but also tired.

Boil's gaze snapped up to him a little too quickly as if he'd been waiting for Cody to say something first this entire time. "Sir?" he asked innocently.

Cody glared at him. He was in no mood for any more of his games, and he was determined in making that fact known. "Why do you hate me?" The question slipped out against his will and he clamped his mouth shut.

Boil stared at him for a moment, not in shock, but something else entirely...satisfaction? "Glad you finally cared enough to notice, sir," he growled out, voice laced with venom.

Cody, trying his best to seem unphased by it, shot him a questioning look and said nothing. Boil took that as a queue to continue.

"But...hate is a strong word. Wouldn't you agree, Commander?" he taunted. He edged closer toward Cody. "Though, I suppose it's justified."

"Do enlighten me," Cody shot back, feeling more agitated than he did before.

"With pleasure," Boil said as the corner of his mouth curled up into a smile Cody could only describe as sadistic. "How many, Commander?"

Cody raised an eyebrow at the question.

"How many more men will it take for you to realise that you have a more important duty than winning wars? How many more of us have to die- have to go on fighting wars that have nothing to do with us, just waiting for that blaster bolt to finally end it all?"

"It seems your anger would be more suitably directed at The Republic, not me." Boil was understandably angry, but that kind of talk was treasonous nonetheless. He'd better be careful.

"Oh please, Commander. You're just as guilty as they are. Guilty of the genocide of your own _brothers_ ," he hissed.

That hit a nerve. It took everything in Cody not to get up and teach him a lesson right then and there. Instead, he leaned forward, eyes growing dark as he glared at Boil. "Watch your tongue, trooper," he warned.

Boil gladly returned the glare, unphased by Cody's dangerous shift in mood. "What's wrong, Commander? Afraid of the truth?" he spat. "You may not be the one behind the trigger, but you're guilty all the same. You're no better than that _aruetii,_ Fox."

Cody slammed his fists on the table and stood up at that, attracting the attention of all the other troopers in the mess, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "He is a _Commander_ ," he growled. "Put some respect on his name."

Boil scoffed. "He's not _my_ Commander," he retorted.

"No, but I am!" Cody allowed his voice to rise. Disrespect towards him was intolerable enough, but disrespect towards fellow Commanders? That's where he drew the line. Fox made a mistake, but he had no right to hold it over his head. Boil didn't know Fox the way he did, even if it's been too long since they'd last met.

Boil stood up to eye level with him. "I'm beginning to see a pattern here, sir," he said calmly. Too calm in response to Cody's own outburst.

Cody glared at him, silently challenging him to go on. He did.

"'Commander' is just another word for _brother killer._ "  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vode - brothers  
> aruetii - traitor


	3. Chapter 3

Cody could barely hold himself back anymore. If not for all his men watching them, he probably wouldn't even have tried - he wasn't proud of that fact, but he knew better than to lie to himself. Boil was confidently staring him down, silently daring him to do something. Cody didn't dare move even a muscle - he knew if he did, there was no going back. He had to keep himself together.

"Lieutenant. With me, _now_ ," he heard someone call beside them. He didn't have to look to see who it was. He'd recognise that edge in his voice anywhere - the one and only Jai'galaar.

Boil grunted as he side-eyed him. "Captain," he grumbled.

" _Now_ , Lieutenant," he demanded.

For a moment, Boil made no move to comply, still staring at Cody unwaveringly. He eventually relented when Jag took a threatening step forward full of intent. A string of mumbled incoherent curse words in both Basic and Mando'a flew from his mouth as he begrudgingly complied, stalking his way over to a very irritated looking Jag.

"Go to the medbay and wait for me there," he ordered Boil who left without another word. He then turned to look at everyone else in the mess hall who was watching them. "What are you lot looking at?" he barked. The rest of the troopers awkwardly looked away, resigning to muttering amongst themselves.

Cody sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thanks," he mumbled into his hand.

"No problem, Commander. I'm sorry about that," Jag sighed as he shook his head. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

Cody hummed. That couldn't be true. Either the Captain was lying to him for Boil's sake, or he really didn't know, which wasn't good either. How could a Captain be so careless as to not notice what's bothering their men? He decided against saying anything, though. After the adrenaline of the tension earlier wore off, he felt even more tired than he did before - like he could pass out any second.

"Get some rest, Commander. I'll deal with him." Cody took note of Jag's worried tone. "Make an example out of him for everyone else if I have to."

Cody sighed again. That did seem like the best course of action, but he didn't want to punish Boil. No matter how much he deserved it, it just didn't sit right with him. "There's no need for that, Captain," he said against his better judgement. "Make sure he learns his lesson, but I want no harm to come to him, understood?"

Jag was silent for a beat as if processing what Cody had just said. His response eventually came in a slow and reluctant "yessir".

Cody nodded gratefully at him, and he returned the gesture before turning to leave as well - to go deal with Boil in the medbay, he presumed. Cody looked around the mess hall. The other troopers seemed to be minding their own business, but he caught a few of them trying to steal glances at him. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop himself from rolling them. He turned on his heel and desperately stalked his way to his barracks. He needed sleep more than anything right now. He wasn't even hungry anymore.

* * *

He should've known sleep wouldn't come as easily as he'd hoped. He's had his eyes shut for a solid half-hour now, and he still wasn't making any progress. No matter how hard he tried, he was still far too tense and stressed out to fall asleep. He tossed and turned, grunting in frustration with every movement. Staying still would definitely help him fall asleep faster, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. He was exhausted yet restless at the same time. The fact that that was even possible was irking him to the core.

He's never used a blanket in his life, and yet he shivered at the lack of one. The GAR didn't see a need for enhanced soldiers to have them - something about how their enhancements helped their body temperature regulate more efficiently than the average human - but Cody knew it was just a stunt to cut costs.

Maybe he could go see Wooley for something to help him out. But this wasn't urgent, and sedatives needed to be conserved for real emergencies. He sighed in defeat as he opened his eyes. He laid there for a moment, giving his eyes time to adjust to the darkness. Blinking a few times, he sat up with a groan and glanced at his chrono. 

**0215**

Hesighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wondered when the day his prayers for a good night's sleep would be answered. Not any time soon, it seemed. The sudden urge to hit the 'freshers overcame him, and suddenly he felt gross and sticky. To be fair, he hasn't washed up after the mission, but he was too tired then to even think about it. As he sat in his barracks restless though, he figured he might as well. 

Grabbing a towel from the crate beside him, he walked out of his barracks with a purpose: to take a damn shower. 

He made sure his footsteps were light as he walked carefully through the corridors, especially whenever he walked past other barracks. You would think something like the sound of his plastoid boots against the durasteel floor wouldn't wake many people, but Cody knew quite a few of his men were light sleepers. It wasn't at all surprising, though. When you lived your life day in and day out fighting a war, you tend to get a bit anxious. 

Like Trapper for example. Cody knew his obnoxiousness was more of a facade than anything, perhaps a coping mechanism. He didn't blame him for it one bit, of course. As he neared Trapper's barracks, he tried his best to stay as light on his feet as possible. But while he was too focused on the noise he was making, he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings. 

Tripping over the smallest piece of durasteel sticking out of the floor, he managed to catch himself just in time. _Stupid fucking-_ He stood there frozen for a moment, silently hoping that the damage hadn't already been done. 

As he heard the door slide open, he knew that wasn't the case. 

"Commander?" Trapper asked sleepily as he stood in the doorway. Cody could laugh. He looked like a toddler calling for their parents late at night

Cody straightened himself as he slung the towel over his shoulder. "Ah, Trapper. Sorry I woke you. I was just headed to the 'freshers."

Trapper managed out a snort, even if his eyes were only half-open. "Better watch your step next time, sir," he teased. 

"I will. Go get some more sleep," Cody laughed along. 

"Sir, yes sir," Trapper mumbled groggily as he gave him a lazy salute, turning back to his bunk. 

Before the door slid closed behind him, Cody caught a glimpse of Boil. To anyone else, it would've seemed as if he were sleeping like a rock, but Cody could've sworn he saw his eyelids flutter shut.

* * *

He sighed in content as he dabbed the last of the water droplets off of his face. His hair was a wet mess and the rest of his body was still dripping, but at least now he was clean. He thought about wrapping himself in his towel and drying up back in the privacy of his barracks, but he figured no one would be up to walk in on him by now anyway. Then the door slid open.

"Commander! I-I'm sorry sir! I didn't-"

"Nothing you've never seen before, Wooley." Cody did shower with the rest of the men occasionally, but that was different from the situation they were in now. Showering with the rest of his men was consensual, and it was apparent to Wooley that Cody wanted to be alone right now, hence showering at karking 0300. But Cody didn't mind. Even so, Wooley kept his gaze averted out of respect, intensely staring at nothing in particular. Anything but Cody. 

Cody finished drying off his hair with a sigh before wrapping the towel around his waist. He may not have minded, but poor Wooley was going redder with embarrassment by the second. He figured he'd cut the kid some slack. 

"So what're you doing up?" Cody asked, indicating that it was safe for Wooley to look now, which he did, albeit hesitantly. 

Wooley took a moment to compose himself, clearing his throat and rolling his shoulders. "Just needed to use the uh, vac tube, sir."

Cody hummed as began to neatly fold his blacks. "Well, don't let me stop you."

Wooley didn't say anything else as he made a beeline for the closest stall. As he got in and locked it, Cody contemplated just leaving now and trying to get some sleep, but his feet felt heavy. 

He stood by the sink, starring down the drainage hole. His eyes began to lose focus as the darkness in the hole seemed to be never-ending. He blinked a few times once he realised what was happening, grounding himself back to reality. He literally just dried his face, but he felt the need to wash it again. He turned the pipe, letting the water flow freely for a moment before cupping his hands under it and splashing his face over and over again in a somewhat aggressive manner. 

Apparently he didn't hear the stall unlock over the sound of the running water. He didn't even notice Wooley walk over until he was right beside him. He turned on the sink beside him and began washing his hands. 

"You okay, Commander?" he asked, frowning a bit. 

"Fine," Cody gritted out. 

Wooley said nothing as his medic instincts took over. His eyes scanned over what was visible of Cody's body. They stopped and widened for a moment as they landed on a large and dark bruise on his left shoulder blade. Wooley clenched his jaw. 

"You didn't come into the medbay after the mission, sir," he said instead, not wanting to throw his Commander off by confronting him so directly. It took a lot not to, though. 

Cody scoffed. He was a smart man, of course he was already catching on. "I didn't," he agreed, wiping his brow with his forearm. 

"Can I ask why, sir?" Wooley pressed on. Commander or not, Wooley outranked him when it came to his wellbeing. 

"You just did," Cody tried to laugh, but his heart just wasn't in it. 

Wooley sighed. Guess he'll have to do this the hard way. "Come with me, sir."

"Wooley it's 0300-" 

"That's an order, sir," Wooley snapped. It didn't sit right with him, being so demanding with his Commander, but it was for his own good. Besides, he had the authority to do so. 

Cody just stared at him and for a second, Wooley felt like he was about to start apologising profusely right then and there, but Cody sighed eventually, silently admitting defeat. "Alright, fine. At least let me put on my pants first."

* * *

Cody was sat on a medbed while Wooley went to go get a medkit. The beds were high enough that his legs were dangling off the ground despite his height. He liked that. He swung his legs around like he was a little cadet again, not oblivious to the costs of war in the slightest like most children would be. But they weren't children, were they? Not to the people who made them, and definitely not to the rest of the galaxy. Sometimes Cody fantasies about what it'd be like to have a normal childhood. But he never really knew _what_ to fantasise about. The closest thing he knew about a normal childhood was whenever he caught glimpses of Prime caring for his son, Boba. 

The back of his foot collided with the side of the medbed a little too harshly as the thought grazed his mind. What made Boba so different that Prime considered him his son and not the rest of the clones? Cody never understood back then, and seeing as how Prime was now dead and Boba was in prison, he probably never will. But he didn't hold it against either of them. It's just...the thought of someone caring for you without any obligation to do so was nice.

"How'd you get this bruise, Commander?" Wooley asked as he began feeling out the area on his back, checking to see which parts hurt and which didn't. 

Cody shrugged his uninjured shoulder. "It was hectic down there, Wooley. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to."

Wooley hummed as he began applying pressure on the spot right beneath his shoulder blade. He watched Cody as he applied more and more pressure, checking for a reaction. "Don't hold back, sir. I need to know where it hurts. Does this hurt?"

Cody nodded once. Wooley immediately released his hold. "What about here?" He was feeling out the area between the shoulder blade and the spine.

"Doesn't hurt," Cody assured. 

"Hm. Doesn't seem like anything's broken," Wooley said more to himself. "But I'll still need to take a scan to be sure."

Cody heard him rummaging through things behind him. 

"Hold still, Commander," Wooley said as he began to scan the bruised area and a little more. The scanner beeped as it completed the scan and displayed the results on its little screen. 

"Huh."

"What is it?" Cody asked, trying to turn to see without moving his shoulder too much. He could take the pain. He didn't even know it was there until Wooley pointed it out. But Wooley wouldn't appreciate him putting more strain on it, so he opted not to. 

Wooley pressed a button and with another beep, a holoimage of the scan was displayed. He moved to stand beside Cody so he could see better without straining himself. 

"So what we're looking at right now is your shoulder blade, obviously," he began as he pointed the area out. He zoomed into the area below it. A red dot appeared and began blinking. "You have a fractured rib right here, but it's extremely mild. Nothing a bone-knitter can't fix."

Cody hummed, suddenly more aware of the pain in his back. "And how long is that gonna take?" he asked. 

"Relax, Commander. I'm sure we'll be able to catch up on some sleep next night-cycle," Wooley joked. "We can get some caf while we wait."

"Yeah?" Cody smirked at him. "Don't get your hopes up, General Kenobi's gonna be downing them before we even get a chance to get our hands on some." 

Wooley chuckled. "I'm sure he'd love to share." 

Their conversation ended there for a bit while Wooley got to work with the bone-knitter. It stung quite a bit here and there, but Cody could take it. He could tell Wooley was trying his best to be as careful as possible. 

"That should do it," Wooley sighed as he set the bone-knitter back into his medkit along with the scanner. Cody let out a yawn. "Just need to apply a bacta patch and you'll be good to go, sir." 

"Thank you, Wooley." 

There was no response from the other behind him. He turned around to make sure he was even still there. 

"No need to thank me, sir. It's my duty after all," Wooley spoke hesitantly. His hand seemed to be trembling ever so slightly as he applied the bacta patch on Cody's back. "You can put your shirt on now, sir."

Cody pulled it on wordlessly, groaning as pulling it over his head messed up his hair again. He was always meticulous about it, even if no one was there to see it. Wooley packed up the rest of the medkit and went off to store it away. 

"Wooley," Cody called as he looked at him from over his shoulder. Wooley ceased his movements abruptly as he turned to face him. Cody swallowed past the lump in his throat, or, he tried to. "How's...how's Boil?"

Wooley stared at him, unmoving. He had heard about what happened between them in the mess hall. He was horrified, of course, but if he was being honest, he wasn't all that surprised. Boil was already going through some stuff. Mix that with the stress from that stealth mission gone horribly wrong and you were in for a smoothie of chaos. 

Wooley's mouth was moving before his brain could even think of what to say. "I-" he gulped. "I wish I knew, sir." 

Cody didn't look away immediately, as if he was searching for something. He nodded once before turning away from Wooley. He let out a heavy sigh through his nose. "Keep an eye on him, Wooley."

"I will, sir."

_I promise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sleepy

**Author's Note:**

> ne'johaa - shut up  
> di'kut - idiot  
> vod - brother


End file.
